Foley And Professor Vying To Be Independent Party Nominee

HARTFORD — The Independent Party is a deeply divided political group with no office, no money and little in the way of organizational muscle.

Yet a battle is brewing for the right to run for governor on the minor party's ballot line.

Republican nominee Tom Foley and Trinity professor John Mertens are vying for the party's endorsement, said Mike Telesca of Waterbury, chairman of one the factions of the Independent Party. The nominee will be decided Tuesday night at a caucus in Watertown.

"I'm not sure who is going to win the caucus," Telesca said. "I just want to make sure there's a fair process."

The Independent Party became a statewide party in 2008 and is now the third-largest political party in the state. But for Foley, the party's backing is mainly important for a tactical reason: a cross-endorsement from the minor party would allow him to place his name on a second line on the November ballot. And that could strengthen his position against Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, whose own name will appear twice, under both the Democratic and Working Families lines.

Appearing on the Independent Party line also could give Foley a boost among unaffiliated voters and some Democrats, who may feel more comfortable voting for him on the Independent line than the Republican one.

Foley will make his case to members of the party at Tuesday's caucus.

Mertens, a newcomer to the gubernatorial race, ran for U.S. Senate in 2010 on the Connecticut for Lieberman line. He is a member of the Independent Party and he has tapped another party official as his running mate.

"I will be putting my hat in the ring for the nomination," Mertens said. "I would love to get into the debates and change the dialogue."

In addition to the potential for a lively battle for the gubernatorial nomination, Independent Party politics are complicated by another factor: control of the party is under dispute, with two factions fighting it out. One is led by Telesca, the other is led by allies of the late Robert Fand of Bethel.

The Fand faction filed a lawsuit against Telesca, contending that he illegally changed the party rules in 2010. Telesca's supporters, who are centered in the Waterbury area, argue that the allies of Fand are Republicans who are only interested in using the Independent Party to boost Republicans.

With about 15,000 members statewide, the Independent Party has generally cross-endorsed Republicans; it backed Linda McMahon for U.S. Senate in 2012 and New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart in 2013.

Telseca said the party is less focused on ideology and more on ballot access. "It's about empowering the voters," he said.

In fact, some members are urging liberal Jonathan Pelto to seek the party's endorsement. A former Democratic state lawmaker who has become one of Malloy's most persistent critics, Pelto is seeking to petition his way on the ballot under the Education and Democracy Party banner.

Pelto said he has had conversations with members of the Independent Party and he supports its mission. But he does not intend to seek the party's endorsement on Tuesday. "I will continue to focus on hoping and expecting that I get on the ballot via my petitions," he said.

Mertens, who describes himself as a social progressive and fiscal conservative, agreed. "The Independent Party has no platform… we can have a very liberal person running at the same time as a very conservative person," he said.

But Mertens said the Independent Party should not become a tool for major party candidates to boost their vote totals.

"Ultimately we want to build a third major party that gives citizens access to the ballot and a voice in the system," Mertens said. "Party politics is ruining politics in the United States."

In 2013, Democrats in the legislature tried unsuccessfully to push through a bill that would have prohibited any political party from using the word "independent" as part of its name. Democrats contended that the word "independent" is often confused with "unaffiliated."